His contracted wife

Chapter two

Chapter two

The following morning, Emilia was before her wardrobe, in front of the mirror, contemplating upon the small number of business casual clothes she had.

Well, wasn’t that just hilarious: she was on her way to the headquarters of one of the largest corporations in New York and had the choice of a two-year-old blazer with a missing button, or an equally worn dress that must have become a signature for all the interviewee craziness.

She sighed, then decided whether to fasten the button on the blazer or not. It was all about the façade in this world and even though she was extremely nervous at the idea of having to meet the team of Blackwood Enterprises, she had to make sure she fit in. Or at least be able to fake it for real in this case.

With her bag gripped tightly on her side and her heart racing, she headed to the subway trying to steady the feeling inside her. That could have been enough to make her apprehensive about meeting new clients in the first place, but it was even more, the mysterious tone Cheryl had used the day before. Something bigger.

It was said that Julian Blackwood himself was rather enigmatic and was capable of manipulating things from behind the scenes.

Emilia shook her head and dismissed the thought. But she had no time for maybes and what-ifs. Not when her financial stability was as good as non-existent.

The subway journey was mundane, the sound that the subway car made and the distant sound of the wheels on the rails, even though loud, almost lulled me into composure during the rush hour.

Shortly, when she was at Blackwood Tower, this feeling had returned in full scale, but this time, there was a touch of resolution. She was here. She was doing this.

Blackwood Tower towered over her as she neared, the glass exterior of the building almost matching the colour of the heavens above.

Emilia stood a little still before the revolving doors taking a deep breath before entering the building. This was a world she had always looked at with distance— a world of dollar bills.

She was uncomfortable, but she tried her best to look confident and she walked towards the receptionist.

“Emilia Gray,” she said, her voice looking much more composed than she felt. “I have a meeting with the events team. ”

No reaction can be observed from the receptionist as she went on typing on the computer. “You will be picked up from the 25th floor using the elevator, there will always be someone to direct you, ”

“Thank you,” Emilia whispered softly and quickly realised that the woman did not hear her words.

As she entered the elevator she felt a slight uncomfortable feeling in her stomach.

What she found peculiar about it was that the silence in these places contributed to her feeling so tiny, so worthless. As if being a stranger on a planet that was never supposed to have her sight on it. She looked at the floor numbers that were in the ceiling- each second she had to force herself to breathe.

Twenty-five. The doors pulled apart and parted with the low tone of a bell, and Emilia found herself in a light-filled room.

A large sign on the wall read: *Blackwood Events Department*.

A young woman with a clipboard in her hand greeted her almost the first time she entered the hall. “Hi, Miss Gray, this is Rebecca; we are the head of the event organising team here; we are glad that you can join us today.”

Rebecca looked happy and shook Emilia’s hand in greeting and Emilia felt relieved that the smile on Rebecca’s face was real. “It was good to be here. I look forward to this being a productive experience. ”

They said their standard greeting then, after some brief conversations, Rebecca took her to a conference room in which the rest of the team was already assembled.

The participants were very few, five in total, and all of them had their laptops out on the table.

Rebecca only briefed the team and introduced Emilia; she then briefly described what would happen at the gala.

The event was three weeks away, and going by the preparations, Emilia managed to get a clue of the proportions of the event.

Guests are expected to initiate more than 500 and include CEOs, politicians, and celebrities, among others. For that reason, we are pleased to confirm that Blackwood Enterprises had hoped for the gala to be a spectacular event – one to hold in great regard, so to speak.

No pressure, right?

During the meeting, Emilia listened carefully and took some notes since she was already thinking of the places where this type of event could take place, what kind of gala it would be, and what type of entertainment could be provided.

She could do this. She had organised numerous events before – not of this magnitude; however, she was quite accustomed to setting the mess into motion. It was quite a task indeed but it was something she could easily manage.

But even as she put all her energy into what was before her that day, she couldn’t quite shake that feeling that had come upon her the day before.

Again, Cheryl’s words came ringing in her ears, and she remembered the other opening that Julian Blackwood had spoken about.

As expected, by the end of the meeting Emilia felt quite nervous again. The job was real.

Though she felt that there was something that was approaching her and was something which she could not handle.

Rebecca came closer to her to talk as she was packing her belongings to depart, with a strange look on her face. “By the way,” she said easily, “Tomorrow morning, you are going to meet Mr. Blackwood, are you not?”

Emilia froze. “What?”

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. Dean raised an eyebrow, “Cheryl didn’t tell you, huh? That was weird, but apparently, Mr. Blackwood seems to have quite an interest in you, too, and he wants to personally discuss the plans for this event.”

Emilia’s pulse quickened. “No, she never said anything about it. ”

“Well, good luck,” Rebecca said with a particular shrug, which could only indicate that she didn’t care. “I have never spoken to him on the phone or perhaps met him face to face but I’ve been told he is… very forceful.”

Emilia looked at him and nodded; her mind was now racing; she could feel this was what she suspected.

Meeting Julian Blackwood? Tomorrow? * What could he possibly want with her? This isn’t what was expected to happen. She had envisaged the role as a low-profile affair where she would just get on with the task and complete the assignments. Now, she was about to be pulled into a meeting with one of the most powerful men in the world.

As she got back to the office and as she was getting into the elevator, she was so full of excitement and at the same time feeling so much fear.

That was not the end of it; the gala was just around the corner. The doors closed in front of Emilia and she was left alone with her own company.

The next day, she would first encounter Julian Blackwood, and she was convinced that upon doing so, her life would never remain the same.